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Extras (book)
Extras is a young adult science fiction novel written by Scott Westerfeld. The novel was published and released by Simon & Schuster on October 2, 2007, and is a companion book to the Uglies series. However, Extras differs from its predecessors in that its protagonist is fifteen-year-old Aya Fuse, not earlier protagonist Tally Youngblood. Despite the fact that Youngblood is not the main character, she still appears in the book's later chapters in a major role. The book was received well by critics such as the New York Times's James Hynes. Plot synopsis It's three years after rebel Tally Youngblood took down the Prettytime regime. Without those strict roles and rules, the world is in a complete cultural renaissance. But freedom doesn't come without its chaos, and the cities must find a new way to regulate resources. The city of Yokohama comes up with a system where fame is considered currency. As if being fifteen doesn't suck enough, Aya Fuse's face rank is so low, she's a total nobody. An extra. Her only chance to escape obscurity is to find a big story to kick - something wild and unexpected. Then Aya meets a clique of girls who pull crazy tricks, yet are deeply secretive about it. She joins them, planning to betray them by kicking their story and become more famous than she's ever dreamed of, but she soon finds something bigger - an explosive discovery that may change the face of the brand new world forever. If Aya kicks this story, she'll be propelled into the world of fame, celebrity, and extreme danger. A world she's not prepared for. Characters * Aya Fuse: The main protagonist of the book. Aya is a fifteen-year-old extra who longs to be famous. When she has a chance to join the Sly Girls, she thinks that kicking their story will drive her face rank up higher than its ever been, but along the way, she discovers something that could destroy the world. * Moggle: Aya's hovercam and only friend. Although it doesn't have true artificial intelligence, it's more than just a floating case of circuitry. Aya uses Moggle to secretly take footage of the Sly Girls. * Hiro Fuse: Aya's Pretty older brother and one of the most popular kickers in Yokohama. Although Aya thinks that becoming famous has made him impossibly arrogant, he cares about his little sister and helps her when things get dangerous. * Frizz Mizuno: A Pretty boy who has become very famous since he's founded Radical Honesty, a movement that surgically removes the brain's capacity to lie. He becomes romantically interested in Aya and helps her to save the world. * Ren Machino: A tech-head and Hiro's best friend. Very famous in the technological world, he helps Aya with various things, be it installing mods on Moggle or rescuing Moggle from the bottom of an underground lake. * Jai/Kai/Lai 'and the 'Sly Girls: This clique is determined to pull off crazy tricks without becoming famous. Aya joins them, hoping to kick their story first and become ultra-famous in the process, but the Girls discover something even crazier than surfing on mag-levs. * Tally Youngblood: The most famous person in the world, the architect of the mind-rain, and the original protagonist of the Uglies trilogy. When Aya kicks her story, Tally is on her way to Japan only hours later, warning Aya to run and hide. She's still the new Special Circumstances, and she will protect the planet no matter who tries to get in her way. * David: A Smokie who is a part of the new Special Circumstances along with Tally. Never a big fan of cities, he helps nature to fight back against their greed. He travels to Japan with Tally and the Cutters, ready to do whatever it takes to protect the planet. * The Cutters: Although the Cutters are still helping out in Diego, they help Tally and David protect the wild whenever they need some backup. Shay and Fausto travel to Yokohama with the new Special Circumstances to see what they can do to help save the world. * The Extras: In Aya's city, being an extra means someone who isn't famous. But over the course of her adventure, Aya discovers that there may be other meanings than merely someone who is superfluous. * Andrew Simpson Smith: A man who was born and raised on a pre-Rusty reservation Tally's city maintained as an experiment. Inspired by Tally's encouragement, he found a way out and has been helping the New Smoke ever since. Trivia * Extras was originally intended to be written from the perspective of Hiro Fuse, Aya's brother. Although Scott Westerfeld would have liked to have a book written from a male perspective, he felt all the cool things were happening to Aya. References Category:Books